Distorted Truths
by miss bookworm malfoy
Summary: Hermione has been charged with bringing in a fugitive. Each chapter will be in the point of view of a different character, each with their own version of the truth. Ending has not been decided; romance is not off the table, but doesn't seem too likely.
1. Hermione: Hunting

My muscles ached. I had no idea how long I had been crouching behind the tree. My knees begged to be moved. My neck was throbbing with the weight of holding up my head, and it took all I had not to flinch at the sound of leaves moving. This was the moment I had been waiting for all day. The rustling stopped and my already tense fingers tightened around my wand. Maybe this was it. The end of my mission. The end of camping and tracking and searching. I didn't want to think hunting. The new Ministry had not hired me to hunt. They hired me to search. Search for the man that could answer so many questions. The rustling stopped and brought me back to the issue at hand. With a leap I landed in front of my prey. Except it wasn't what I was expecting. The deer froze at the sudden movement and I took a moment to appreciate its beauty. I sighed and waved it off, and with graceful bound it was gone.

With the peace already disturbed, I stretched and my joints began popping. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was getting late. I had already been here a week longer than I anticipated. A month in the woods with no outside contact had begun to eat away at me. But I understood that owls in and out of the woods would be a dead giveaway that he was being tracked. If he didn't know it already. I circled the tree I had been hiding behind. The trail I had been tracking led me to a clearing just beyond the tree, but then it stopped suddenly. I had assumed the trail was wrong and he was somewhere around the clearing, it was a matter of waiting for him to think I had gone. So I hid and tried to wait him out. Clearly that strategy didn't work.

I pulled a piece of fabric out of the bag I had left by the tree. I pointed my wand at the fabric the Ministry had given me and whispered " _Vestigium._ " A light red trail appeared on the ground leading to the right and left of where I was standing. I put the fabric back into my bag and followed the trail into the clearing once again. It was dimmer than this morning, meaning it had been more time since he had been here. I walked through the clearing to the other side, looking for a spot where the trail picked back up. I began going around the entire clearing looking for the trail, holding back panic.

He couldn't have apparated. He didn't have a wand and the Ministry had placed a spell on the whole woods to keep people from apparating in or out, so he couldn't have had help. There was no other reason his trail would have disappeared. I took a deep breath as I completed encircling the clearing. There was a solution. I just had to think of it. Soon.

Author's Note: Found the idea for this story in an old notebook. Not sure where I was going with it before, and not entirely sure where I'm going with it now. It just feels awesome to write again. Feel free to make suggestions on the plot. I'm going to try to keep chapters short so I can churn them out at the rate I'd like to.  
MissBookwormMalfoy


	2. Draco: Hiding

My muscles ached. I had no idea how long I had been balancing in the tree. My knees begged to be moved. My neck was throbbing with the weight of holding up my head, but if there was one thing I learned from watching my father, it was self-control. This was testing all of it that I had. I watched the deer wander through the clearing towards her. I saw her hand clench around her wand as she prepared to attack. When she did, she wasn't expecting a deer. She paused, waved it off, and then began stretching.

I took this moment to appreciate her like I never had in school. She was clearly athletic; what curves she did have were small, but it suited her. My too-long hair fell into my eyes. _When did I become such a savage?_ Granger's voice made me look down. " _Vesitigium_." Of course, I already knew she was using this spell. That's how I was able to hide. It was a clumsy job, really. I definitely could have done better. But her reliance on that spell is what concealed me. I had thought of the plan yesterday and executed it this morning. I ran in order to keep the trail close to the same shade. Out into the middle of the clearing. Then backtracking exactly so she wouldn't expect anything. Then up the tree beside my path. That's where her plan fell apart. I had used this spell as a boy when I was bored to track my cousins as a game. They would hide, and it was always my job to seek them out. I had always enjoyed being the one looking for other people. And now here I was. Hiding.

Granger came back into view. I hadn't even noticed she'd been gone. She was mumbling under her breath and there was a crease between her brows. She stared at the faint glowing ground showing her where I had been, and suddenly her head popped up in realization. "He went back," she whispered under her breath.

I knew she had found me then. I don't even know what made me think that I could get away from her using tricks from a child's game. Maybe I was just tired of running. Maybe I was ready to face the consequences I was sure that were waiting for me. It may have been a lot of things. But it wasn't because I admired her.


	3. Harry: Waiting

A/N: This one is longer, but gives more detail and background into the main characters. I hope you like it. As always, reviews, criticism, and ideas for the future are always welcome and appreciated. -MissBM

The clock in the living room chimed midnight. The coffee on the table in front of me had gone cold long ago. My eyes burned and my body yearned for sleep. I wish I could say that I acted this way purely because I was worried about her. But mostly I was worried about what would happen if she never came back. It had already been a month with no word. When the mission came up, I tried to take it on myself, but after being promoted to head of the Auror Office, I didn't log a lot of field time. The sound of small feet shuffling down the hall made me feel guilty. I had tucked her in hours ago, but told her that I couldn't read her a bedtime story. Not tonight.

She peeked around the side of the door and I waved her in, "What's the matter, honey? Can't sleep?"

She came to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I raised her into my lap. She looked at me with those large brown eyes. "I miss Mommy."

It took all I had to hold it together for our only daughter. "I know, sweetie, Daddy misses her, too." She tucked her face under my chin. I began rocking her as tears rolled down her face. Soon after, she was asleep. I carried her into her room where there was still a rocking chair. I held her late into the night, letting her sleep on my chest. I knew all too well that time goes by too fast. I tried to enjoy it with her while I could.

My mind wandered in those hours, replaying all the things I had learned and experienced. While my time at Hogwarts was no walk in the park, it did not prepare me for what was coming. After the Battle of Hogwarts, I searched for Ginny, only to come up empty. An owl visited the Burrow three days later with a letter addressed to each of her family members. There was not one for me. She had decided to travel. To try to get the images of the War out of her head. She wasn't sure when or if she would be back. She still wrote to people occasionally after the initial letters. Hermione even got them about once per year. Still none for me.

After the war, Hermione and Ron continued to try to work it out, but everyone knew that it was just a form of self-fulfillment; they were both trying to hold on to their innocence by holding on to each other. I still remember the day Hermione told me it was over.

She looked at me with red-rimmed eyes. "I just don't know, Harry. We tried everything. I really wish I could love him. I want to. But we can't force it."

I sighed and held her hand as she laid her head on my shoulder. "I really wish there were something I could do to help you."

She sobbed in response. She, like her daughter, fell asleep with tears dripping onto my chest. It was that night that I decided I wanted to marry her.

The next morning she woke to pancakes and bacon. After we had made small talk and eaten breakfast, I told her my idea. "What if you were to marry me?" I knew it came out wrong, but it was what came out.

She looked at me and squinted. "Are you trying to be funny? Because it's rather rude."

I took the plate she was drying from her hands. "No, really. Hear me out."

We sat on the couch and she watched me with a weary expression as I explained. "I will never find someone who knows me like you do. I've tried dating, and all I am to anyone else is Harry Potter, the hero of the wizarding world. They don't know what I've been through. Not only do you know, you were there with me through all of it. I can be myself around you. I can sleep next to you and not worry that my nightmares are going to wake you up, because I know that you're having them, too. I know I'm not your first choice for romance, but I can promise that I will always make you as happy as I can."

She was offended at first. She thought it was the Yule Ball all over again. About a month later, she apparated into my flat. "Okay, Harry. I've thought about it, and I realize that I'm in the same situation as you. No one I meet will ever see me as anything other than your sidekick. One of the Trio. Last night I went out with a guy and all he kept asking me about was the war, Voldemort, and you. I'd be lying if I said that this arrangement made me giddy as a schoolgirl, but it's the logical choice. I love you as much as I've ever loved anyone."

We were married six months later.

I did grow to love Hermione. It was nice to have someone beside me at night, reading while I did paperwork, helping with the dishes, being a constant in my life. On our two-year anniversary, she told me she wanted a child. I was against it at first. I had seen all the horrors of this world. Bringing another life into it seemed almost cruel. But I couldn't say no to Hermione for long.

Right before she gave birth, we picked out a name. Ginny's letters had ceased long ago. At the request of her family, an official investigation was opened in an attempt to find her. Leads came up empty. She was presumed dead. When Hermione suggested naming our daughter after Ginny, I could only agree. Hermione also wanted to name her after Professor McGonagall. We settled with Minevra, a combination of Minerva and Ginevra.

Minevra had just celebrated her third birthday when the mission came through the Ministry. Hermione had volunteered almost immediately.

"Harry, you know you can't go. And no one here is as impartial as I can be." I sighed in frustration, knowing she was right. She left a week later.

But that was a whole month ago. Minevra shifted in her sleep, restless. I tucked her into bed, kissed her on the forehead, and whispered, "Mommy will be back soon. And then we can all go back to normal." This thought was the only one keeping me going.


	4. Narcissa: Wandering

I found myself wandering the halls once again. Not looking for anything, really. Just looking. A flickering light spilling out into the hall told me that Lucius was in the study. Just like every other night.

The Ministry had carted him off to Azkaban to await trial after the Battle of Hogwarts. By the time the Ministry had been sorted through and the last remaining Dark Wizards were expelled from government, Lucius had been there eighteenth months. When he was brought to trial, I could tell that something within him had changed. His head was held high, just like before, but instead of pride in his eyes, there was hesitation. He offered to give the Ministry every name he could remember in return for being imprisoned in Malfoy Manor instead of Azkaban. There was much debate, but after they realized how many people they missed in their sweep, they were eager to comply. They got what they wanted and Lucius was still out of their way, but they still added some requirements. He was to no longer have a wand, and he would no longer be allowed to use magic in any way. The Ministry agreed to the Wizengamot's stipulations and added that 20% of the Malfoy wealth was to be paid for reparations to the Wizarding World. It was a price we willingly paid.

Upon his return home, he found out that Draco had disappeared. If he was affected, it didn't show. I had gotten the body of my husband back, but his spirit was nowhere to be found. My days passed in reading and wandering the halls. With Draco gone and Lucius absent, I became very lonely. One day, I went to the Ministry and begged for someone to bring my son home. It went about as well as I hoped. 'He's an adult, we can't do anything, if he wants to be away, that's what he'll do…' So I looked the man in the eye and lied. It was much easier than lying to Voldemort. But it was just as necessary. My boy was missing. "He wrote home. He said that he had been contacted by some remaining Death Eaters. He couldn't tell me where he was or they would kill him. But they have offered him renewed membership. He can tell you where they are if you find him." Less than two weeks later, I received a letter saying that one of their best Aurors had been sent to find him. I only hoped the Auror knew what he was doing.

I walked through the door of the study, seeing Lucius on the couch facing away from me. He was staring into the fire like Draco used to do. I sat next to him and laid my head on his shoulder. He smelled of cigars and strong alcohol. I remembered how he used to hold my hand and kiss the top of my head. He may have been ruthless, power-hungry, arrogant, and a wizard supremacist, but that wasn't his entire being. At night, in this study, around the dinner table, out on our Quidditch pitch, there were many facets that no one saw. No one but me and Draco. But in his obsession about the Second Wizarding War, he had lost all those pieces of himself.

I grabbed and squeezed his hand before I got up to go to bed. I had no hope that he would follow me. At the door, I looked back to see him watching me. I wondered what was going on behind those steely eyes, but didn't say anything as I turned back around. I knew that in the morning I would find him in this same spot, but asleep. I also knew that when Draco was brought home, something in Lucius would be renewed and everything would go back to the way it was before Voldemort came back. This was the only thing I could believe anymore.


End file.
